Ed Schultz, who anchors MSNBC's prime 8 p.m. time slot, has been raising his ratings while talking about the issues of the poor and middle class working people. Flip through the radio dial any given afternoon and you might hear an angry-sounding white man railing against the government, Congress and dastardly politicians.

No, not Rush Limbaugh.

This one criticizes Congress for not giving more help to the poor, the government for cutting off unemployment benefits, and politicians for pledging to dissolve unions. Ed Schultz has, over the last two years, made a niche in radio and on TV by talking about the poor and middle class, solidly gaining in ratings while more and more Americans lost jobs, benefits and middle class status.

"Republicans are waging another secret war on workers," he says at the top of a recent TV show, which airs at 8 p.m., putting Schultz up against Anderson Cooper and Bill O'Reilly.

Media outlets have tried to speak on behalf of progressive causes before but rarely with success